Boko Haram leader urges fighters: kill, slaughter and abduct

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria – Boko Haram's leader is urging his fighters to "kill, slaughter and abduct ... and detonate bombs everywhere," in a new video that denies Nigerian government claims that his Islamic extremist group has been crushed.

President Muhammadu Buhari declared last week that soldiers had driven Boko Haram from its last forest enclave, with fighters on the run and no place to hide.

Abubakar Shekau in a video posted on YouTube Thursday announces he is "well and alive."

Nigeria's military said they seized Shekau's Quran in an assault on Boko Haram's last hideout in the northeastern Sambisa Forest — wanting to indicate he was on the run. The military has at least three times in the past claimed to have killed Shekau, only to have him reappear in a video.